Harvey Girls Revisited
by A cold november wind
Summary: This isn't your grandmother's Harvey Girls! Spunky Susan Bradley is not afraid to speak her mind...to herself that is. She's out to defend the honor of the Bradley sisters but an annoyingly handsome dance hall owner and her heart keep getting in the way.


I am a fan of the old Hollywood movies...Yes, those ones that never follow the book and are filled with tired old cliches. They are so fun to watch though!  
>One of my favorites is The Harvey Girls with Judy Garland. It's a musical...and what it lacks in the plot, it makes up in songs. I'm one of those oddballs however, that wonder about those holes in the story. I'd rather not admit how much time I spend thinking about those holes, thank you very much :)<p>

Here is my imagination's version of what might have happened in The Harvey Girls...

As always, reviews and comments are welcome!

No copyright infringement intended.

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><p><em><span>Spring 1880's<span>_

Susan walked by Lara's room…she was being awfully secretive lately. Spending more and more time alone, in her room. Lost in thought and walking around as if in a dream. Susan shrugged it off and walked on. Lara couldn't keep secrets for long. She'd tell her sisters eventually.

_2 months later _

Susan looked behind her at the doorway. No one was there. She turned around to the desk and picked up the letter on Lara's desk.

She shouldn't be here, in her older sister's room. Sneaking through her things. But Lara had been acting very strange lately and she wasn't coming clean to her or their younger sister Lena.

Susan took a deep breath and opened the letter. Her fingers were shaking slightly as she opened up the wrinkled paper. It was soft and worn, as if it had been read a thousand times. Her lips moved silently as she read the script and her eyes widened.

_A love letter? _

Lara Bradley Stoltz had been a widow for nearly a year now. She had married a German immigrant and lived near her sisters. While Harold had clearly loved Lara, he also favored the bottle. But Lara was of a dedicated character, whatever the circumstances. Harold had been a source of contention between her and Suan. They never really got along and Suan had come to understand that Lara was resentful about Susan's opinion of her husband. Almost 18 months after their wedding day, Lara became a widow because of a factory accident. Harold had been drunk and his attention not quite where it should have been.

_Hartsy? Who was Hartsy? _

Susan continued to scan the letter and began to smile and even laughed softly at some of the passages. Flowery scripts and verses of poetry outlined this Hartsy fellow's love for Lara. And then he began to talk about mountains and a valley. His valley. The letter sounded more real during this passage. His love for the land and how he wanted to share its beauty and bounties with someone. He talked about the healing power of a good relationship.

Susan sighed and looked at the envelope, trying to discern where it came from. _Colorado? Good Heavens!_ That was miles away from Ohio.

She put the letter down on the desk. Hartsy sounded as if he might have a sad story in his life somewhere. Was it so wrong for two people who had endured tragedy to come together in love and happiness? She didn't have an answer to that question.

Pulling open the first drawer, she looked for more letters. Not finding anything, she looked into all of the desk's drawers and came up empty handed.

There had to be more letters! She looked around the room. Where would Lara keep them? Her eyes came to rest on the wardrobe where Lara's clothes and corsets were kept. Of course! No one would dare touch someone else's intimate garments.

No one that is except Susan.

The body was nothing new to her as she came into contact with many of the them, dead and alive, through her work at the clinics for the poor. She quickly opened it and felt around the corsets. Her hand touched paper and she began to pull a small bundle out.

Lara was out of the house for a few hours so Susan settled down on the floor to read all of Hartsy's letters. Each letter was a window, revealing bit by bit the soul of a man who presented a contradiction to Susan.

Life in the West was hard, Hartsy revealed. The kind of hardship that turned youth into old age before its time. The kind that forged characters into steel discipline and fiery determinism. Wills of iron were buried deep under grit and sweat, where they were unlikely to be changed or touched. But the Human need for relationships was just as strong. Hartsy revealed a touching vulnerability in his lines about the earth he held so dear. To cherish and protect it was his choice but to share this love with someone would be an honor.

**A warrior with a heart of a poet…how romantic!**

_Oh piffle! He's just lonely._

**Well, of course he is. That's why he's writing the letters. But you don't meet many men who can compose music from words the way he can.**

_Hmph! He probably got someone to write it for him. How do we know anything from letters? He could be another Harold!_

**No drunk would take the time and effort to bare his soul for a random stranger!**

_There is a certain kind of logic in what you say…_

**Give him a chance. Give Lara another chance, for Heaven's sake!**

_Lara..._

_Yes, I suppose you're right._

**Of course I'm right. It's impossible for me to be wrong.**

_I don't understand how one's conscience can develop such a colossal ego._

**Grrrr!**

A small slip of paper separated from the rest and fell to the floor. As she retrieved the paper, her eyes recognized the small, neat letters of Lara's handwriting. She continued to read and realized that it was Lara's reply to the most recent letter from Hartsy.

_Oh, darn! _Susan mentally cursed. _Lara, Lara…how could you write like this? _ The words didn't flow, her sentences were disjointed. And it had about as much emotion as a hatpin. Susan held the paper in her hand as a deliciously wicked idea formed in her mind.

**No Susan! It's too risky!**

_Lara deserves some happiness after the Harold fiasco. What could possibly go wrong?_

**Writing Lara's reply for her? A thousand and one things for a start! ****She'd be living a lie. What would Hartsy think?**

_He's never going to know! _

**What if he asks her about what she wrote…she won't have a clue about what he's talking about. **

_The chances of that happening…_

**It's still a chance!**

_Life is all about taking risks. I'm going to do it!_

**Sometimes, I don't know why I bother!**


End file.
